1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements to a crafting apparatus of the type used to present a tautly stretched base sheet of cloth material for rug hooking and needle working and, more particularly, the invention relates to a transportable crafting apparatus embodying a construction and arrangement of parts to allow a compact storage arrangement between a crafting frame and a support base for transportation purposes and to establish a rigid, supported interconnection between the base and the crafting frame so as to enhance the usefulness of such apparatus for crafting operations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The construction of textile crafts is a popular hobby. For many textile crafts, the use of a frame is indispensable to provide a stable work area necessary to hold the textile in place and thereby avoid annoying distractions to the hobbyist engaged in rug hooking and needlework operations.
Previously, the use of such a crafting frame involved the placing of the textile on a frame which was part of a stand that was a free standing floor supported structure. Such a frame included devices such as rollers to spread the textile worked upon tightly. The existing frame designs are generally heavy and bulky thereby prohibiting fast and easy removal from one location to another. In addition, such existing frames generally involved protruding tension control arms to hold such textiles taut.
Examples of frame structures used to support fabric during rug hooking and needlework operations can be found in U. S. Pat. No. 773,577 of Mallory; U.S. Pat. No. 2,832,171 of Batey; U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,804 of Batey; U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,515 of Hinson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,645 of Knox; U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,197 of Hinson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,409 of Bell; U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,521 of Thorpe; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,775 of Riley. In this body of prior art, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,832,171; 4,315,645; and 4,922,804 disclose a construction of a crafting frame to stretch the cloth material after attachment by carding strips to the frame so as to tension the cloth material across a window like opening of the frame. The parts necessary to tension the cloth material in this manner unduly complicate and enlarge the size of the crafting frame structure to such an extent that there is precluded the opportunity for reducing the gross size of a crafting frame assembly to a size to allow storage in a compact form and for transporting from place to place. Compact storage is not only important with respect to transportation and use at diverse sites but also use at diverse times at the same general site, i.e., a craft area in a room.
The rug hooking frame as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,804 exemplifies the use of a rigid frame formed by legs extending to a floor engaging frame part. Such a frame assembly requires an inordinate amount of space and therefore present a storage problem.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved crafting apparatus to overcome the shortcomings and disadvantages arising out of the construction of known crafting apparatus.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a crafting frame construction that can be simply and easily transformed from a rigid lightweight frame assembly to a compact transportable assembly that not only protectively houses normally delicate fabric hooking strips but also eliminates the need for any loose pieces that might otherwise become lost.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a crafting frame apparatus changeable from a compact transportable arrangement to a form ready for use wherein a crafting frame is interconnected with a base structure by rigid legs so engaged in the assembly to impart reliable rigidity and ease of transformation to the assembly to retain the stability of a larger, heavier crafting frame assembly.